Loss to Michigan means Ryan Day could enter record books with natty win, Ohio State alumnus said

Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes are in the College Football Playoff semifinals. They have an opportunity to advance to the national championship game on Friday as they face the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic. However, it has not been smooth sailing for the Buckeyes all season.

The Buckeyes have experienced a few setbacks this year, beginning with a 32-31 loss to Oregon in early October. That setback added to the idea that Day failed to motivate his players for games against top-five opponents. Then, a 13-10 loss to Michigan in the regular season finale landed him on the hot seat.

On Friday's episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show," the host said that Day deserved to be on the hot seat at that point. However, he added that he no longer deserves to be in that position after two playoff games.

Ohio State alumnus Cris Carter appeared on the show and spoke about how Day and the Buckeyes could enter the record books with a Natty win.

"This team has the potential to be the only team in Ohio State history that wins a National Championship without beating Michigan," Carter said (starts at 2:30). "We've won eight National Championships. In all those seasons, we've beat Michigan. So he does have the program in the right state where it needs to be.

"Are we upset about the Michigan? Of course and we should be and we should be able to speak our mind about our head coach. If you don't Michigan, you are going to have a problem with a certain amount of Buckeyes fans, and that is how it always should be. This is a prime time but he is built for it."

Ryan Day and Ohio State's path to the National Championship continues against Texas on Friday

While Ohio State could enter history with a national championship, two games remain. First, Ryan Day must coach his team to a win against Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

If they can pull that off, they will compete against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the national championship game. They narrowly defeated Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

Those are two strong teams who are both capable of beating the Buckeyes.